Not A Day Goes By
by JimberlyShipper
Summary: Sequel to my first story...hope you like this one. It s a tearjerker, keep that in mind when reading this. r&r, please.


Not A Day Goes By: An ATWT Sequel  
  
JCP  
  
I, Jacey Snyder, stood in my own living room, tears filling my eyes. Jack had disappeared. I wasn`t sure where he`d gone; he was working on some big case with my mother, and no one had seen him for a couple of days. We knew that Jack sometimes just took some time to himself, but he hadn`t done that in the six months we`d been married. Besides, his ex-wife Julia Lindsey Snyder had gone crazy and was painting our little town Redneck. I yanked up the phone to call my mother. She was going to give me some answers, and now.  
  
She didn`t answer her phone right away, but I knew without my husband there, things got hectic. ''Mother, Jack hasn`t been seen in three days. And Julia`s running loose. Are you expecting me to believe that he just took one of his "time out" days, which he hasn`t taken for six months?'' I cried when she answered the phone.  
  
Mother replied, ''Honey, there`s nothing I can do right now. Simon is working on it, if you`d just hold your horses, OK? He`s coming to your house to question you in just a minute!''  
  
I replied, ''Fine, but Simon and I are going to find him. We`re not going to rest until he`s back at home.'' The minute I`d hung up the phone, the doorbell rang. ''That was fast, Simon.'' I said under my breath. I flung the door open. ''OK, Simon, let`s find Jack.'' I said.  
  
It wasn`t Simon. Jack`s ex-wife Julia stood there, holding Jack by his strait jacket collar. ''Hello, Mrs. Snyder. Pay up, or Jack`s gonna find himself in a hole in the ground.''  
  
My shock drifted away slowly as I realized that this was really happening. I ushered her in, and closed the door. ''Give me my husband.'' I said, clenching my fists.  
  
Julia replied, ''Sorry, don`t think so. I want a million dollars, or he`s gonna have a stiff belt.''  
  
I picked up the phone. ''I`ll call Lucinda Walsh, hold on one second.'' I dialed my "grand-mother" and waited until Mathew picked up. ''Hi, Mathew, get Ms. Walsh, a moment, please.''  
  
Lucinda answered, ''Hello, Darling. What do you need?''  
  
I said, ''Lucinda, Jack`s been kidnapped by Julia, and she wants a million dollars. You`ve got to give it to me so he can be freed. She`s seriously going to kill both of us.''  
  
She replied, ''I`ll give it to Simon, he can write a check and then take her to the bank to have it cashed. Margo Hughes can meet her there. OK?''  
  
I nodded. ''OK, Lucinda.'' I knew she meant that Mom could meet her, and arrest her before they cashed the check. (Lucinda loves me and Jack both, but she doesn`t like to part so heartedly with money.)  
  
She hung up, and I did the same. I turned to Julia. ''Julia, Lucinda Walsh is going to write a check. She`s sending it with Simon. Then Simon`s going to take you to the bank to have it cashed.''  
  
Julia asked, ''No cops?''  
  
I replied, ''No, as long as you leave Jack here beforehand. That`s the deal, or I call my mother.''  
  
She looked at me. She was really not wanting to agree to this plan, I could tell. But she said, ''OK, that`s fine. But don`t let him out of the strait jacket until Simon gets here.''  
  
I nodded. ''Fine.'' I wanted to keep her happy, so I was about to ask her if she wanted some soda, when the doorbell rang. Jack looked terrible. He looked like he`d been beaten, and maybe raped. (He wasn`t wearing a shirt, and I saw a pregnancy test sticking out of her pocket. It wasn`t that much of a stretch.) I went to get the door. ''Simon!'' I cried, happy to see him.  
  
Simon looked at me. ''What`s wrong, honey?'' He asked, seeing my extra distress.  
  
Julia waved. ''Hi, Simon, how are you today?'' She placed Jack on the couch, and walked over. ''Do you have the check?'' She asked him.  
  
Simon nodded. ''Yes, I do. Is Jack here, and is he fine?'' He asked, and at my slight nod, he took Julia out the door.  
  
I called his cell phone and asked, ''Do you know the plan? Mom`s going to be there when you get to the bank.''  
  
Simon replied, ''I know, honey, it will be fine, take care of Jack.'' He hung up.  
  
I rushed over to Jack and put my arms around him. He cried on my shoulder. ''Oh, Jack! I`m so sorry! Mom didn`t believe me about your being hurt somewhere. Aw, honey, what did she do to you?'' I asked, pulling away for a moment.  
  
Jack`s eyes were bloodshot, and he was shaking. I removed the strait jacket, and he hugged me tight for several moments before he pulled away. ''She.....'' He said, slowly, and paused. ''She decided that she wanted to have a baby, and she wouldn`t take no for an answer.'' His eyes started to well, and I wanted to somehow turn back time so that this hadn`t happened to him. ''I feel so dirty...and violated.'' He said, beginning to cry.  
  
I took him in my arms. ''I`m so sorry that this had to happen, Jack. I wish I could take it all away. I`m sorry that I didn`t get to you in time, before this happened.''  
  
Jack looked at me. ''I just need you to be your wonderful self, and you`ll understand if I can`t.........can`t.......'' He broke off again, shoulders shaking violently as he sobbed.  
  
I hated to leave him, but the doorbell was ringing insistantly. I got up, and hurried to the door. I opened it, crying, "What?"  
  
It was Aunt Lily. ''Hi, I wanted to see if Simon had gotten here alright, and if Jack was home. Holden`s worried sick, but Faith`s ill and he didn`t want to leave her.''  
  
I looked at her. I whispered, ''Jack`s not doing too hot, Aunt Lil. Julia...........she, she raped him.'' I spit the words from my mouth. ''She decided she wanted a child. Can you believe this?'' I paused, and Lily put her hand to her mouth, obviously horrified.  
  
Lily said, ''That`s horrible, I can understand why he`s terrible. How long did she have him?''  
  
I replied, ''Three days, and it`s awful, I just wish that I could take it all away.'' I turned to look at him. He was sitting on the couch, and he was so out of it, I don`t think he knew I was there anymore.  
  
Lily walked in, as I stepped aside. I knew he`d want to see her if he was himself. She stood beside the couch, watching him. Her long brown hair hung in the air, as she held her head slightly slanted, and she looked like her heart was aching for him.  
  
I closed the door, and went to stand beside her. I said, ''You can say hi, but he might not answer. He prolly won`t be anywhere near himself for a little while.''  
  
Just as I said this, he looked up. His face was pale, and peaked, and he had a three day grizzle from not shaving, and his eyes were bloodshot. ''Hey, Lil.'' He said, in his normally sexy voice.  
  
She asked, ''Jack, is there anything I can do for you? Do you want anything to drink, eat?''  
  
Jack ran his hand through his dark hair. ''I`m really tired. I think I`ll just have Jace help me upstairs. I`m sorry I`m not much company.''  
  
My heart ached for him. Here he was, just having been through a horrible ordeal, and apologizing to Lily for not being much company! I fell deeper in love with him. This man was the sweetest man alive. I said, ''Lily, why don`t you go home, and I`ll call you. Jack needs some rest.''  
  
She nodded, and I showed her out, then helped Jack upstairs and into the bathroom to shower. I knew Jack, he`d awake and want a shower, so he might as well get it out of the way now. He wouldn`t let me help him undress, and I knew it was just a side effect of Julia`s craziness, so I didn`t say anything.  
  
An hour later, he`d finished, and was calling me up to help him into the bed. When I`d reached the landing, I knew he`d have to have therapy, this was too deep for him to handle alone. I wiped back my blond hair and helped him get to bed so he could sleep. I didn`t join him, I went downstairs and slept on the couch.  
  
The next morning, I awoke bright and early. It was seven o'clock. I wiped my eyes and sat up. I didn`t feel gorgeous, but outside did. I grudgingly managed a grin. It was going to be a beautiful spring morning, that`s for sure. I heard noises upstairs, and Jack appeared on the landing. He had shaved, and looked better after a night`s sleep.  
  
He walked down the stairs and said, ''Morning.''  
  
I smiled wanly and got up off the couch and straightened my blue jeans and Diamond Rio tee.  
  
He had started down the stairs when the phone rang. I got p****ed off, and got up to yell at whoever it was. It was my "cousin" Abigail`s mother, Molly. ''Hey, Mol.'' I said.  
  
She said, ''Um, honey, I have bad news.''  
  
I asked, ''What`s the matter? Something happen to Abigail or the twins? Are they OK?''  
  
Molly tearfully replied, ''Jake`s passed away, honey. He got shot by Mary, our old nanny. She`s dead, too, she fell off a building.''  
  
I gasped, my eyes filling with tears. ''Oh, no, Molly, no!'' I cried, my shoulders shaking with sobs.  
  
Jack was to my side in a moment, putting his arms around me. He didn`t say anything, just kissed my cheek.  
  
I told Molly we`d be at the hospital as soon as we could. I hung up and turned to my husband. ''Jake`s gone, Jack. He was shot and killed. Molly said he`s at the hospital.''  
  
Jack pulled me to him as his eyes filled with tears. ''Honey, I`m sorry, I`m so sorry.'' He said, as I sobbed on his shoulder.  
  
After a few minutes, I ran upstairs and changed my shirt to a blue Old Navy shirt with an American flag on it that Jake had given me for my birthday last year. I pulled my blond hair back and hurried back downstairs. Jack was wiping his eyes and had just finished pulling a blue tee over his head. I assumed he`d gone to get jeans and a shirt from the laundry room, which had assorted clean clothes in it.  
  
Jack looked up at my arrival. ''Come on honey, let`s go to the hospital. I just got off the phone with Holden and Lily. They`re going to meet us there.''  
  
I nodded numbly and we headed for the car. It didn`t take long to get there. I felt horrible, here was another man I looked up to so dead. First Caleb, now Jake, who`d be next, Holden?  
  
Molly, Abigail, Holden, and another of Holden`s kids, Aaron, were in the ICU unit. They were all upset. I made a beeline for them. I threw my arms around Molly and Abigail both. All three of us cried, and I assumed Jack talked to Holden and Aaron.  
  
After a few moments, we pulled away and Abigail said, ''I`m so scared. I keep thinking he`ll come out of that room, claiming he`s fine and asking why we`re all so sad.''  
  
I smiled weakly and said, ''I miss him so much. Jake and I always had so much fun. I wish I could have seen him before this happened. I loved him like an uncle. Why does everybody have to die?'' I asked, tears filling my eyes again.  
  
Holden stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. ''Jake knew how much you loved him, honey. He`s in heaven now, don`t you worry about that.''  
  
I looked around. ''Where`s Jack? Where`d he go?'' I asked, taking the tissue Aaron offered me.  
  
Aaron replied, ''He left, saying he`d be back. He said he wasn`t leaving you, he promised he`d be back.''  
  
I felt horrible for him. Here he`d gone through the most horrific experience, and now his friend died. And if you ask me, he wasn`t over Caleb yet. Ever since Caleb`s death, he`d been moody and distant. Now Jake. Jake and Jack had been close. That poor man. I knew he couldn`t go off and brood, though. He could be alright for awhile, but he would eventually need me.  
  
I knew how he must be feeling. Jack kept a lot bottled up inside. He always seemed to think that he never needed help. It really ticked me off sometimes. I loved him, but quite often I wanted to shake him and tell him to get the help he needed.  
  
I hugged Aaron. ''I`m glad you`re here. I can remember when you were born, cuz.'' I said, smiling at him.  
  
Aaron looked at me. ''You`re not much older than I am, how can you remember when I was born?''  
  
I laughed. ''Honey, I was only five, I wasn`t as young as you think I am. Although that`s nice you think so.'' I wiped away my tears.  
  
Jack joined us again. His eyes were puffy and red. He had tried to make himself look as presentable as possible. He slid his arm around me and kissed my cheek. He said softly, ''How`s Molly? Where`d she go?''  
  
I looked at him. ''Honey, she`s right here. Are you OK?'' I asked, looking into his doe brown eyes.  
  
Jack looked. Molly was standing right in front of us. He wiped his eyes and said, ''I`m sorry. I`m just so not here right now, and this makes it worse.'' He sat down in one of the waiting room chairs. He ran his hands through his hair, his shoulders shaking.  
  
I sat down beside him and threw my arms around him, holding him as he cried. I didn`t know how to make his pain go away. But I wished that I could. I kissed his cheek and ran my hands through his hair. We just sat quietly, not saying anything for several minutes.  
  
Finally, he said, ''I just can`t get anything right, lately, can I?'' He asked.  
  
I looked at him. ''Honey, whatever has been going on lately is not your fault! Jake`s not your fault, and Julia isn`t your fault.''  
  
He looked at me. ''Yes it is. If I hadn`t hurt Julia so bad, then she wouldn`t have to get back at me.''  
  
I looked right back, hardly believing what I was hearing. How could he think that? Jack was such a sweet guy! How could he think that he could hurt anyone? I was going to say so, when my Uncle Holden came over to see how we were.  
  
He said, ''Are you guys OK? Jake had a letter he wanted us to read if something happened to him.''  
  
We walked back with him. Cass, Jake`s good friend, was reading the letter:  
  
Dear Molly and Friends:  
  
If you`re reading this, I am prolly dead. I wanted to let you guys know that I enjoyed spending my life with you. I want to let you all know, too, that none of this is your fault. Unless you`ve killed me yourself, and I hardly think that any of you would do that to me. I had better get going. I just wanted to let you know, not a day goes by that I don`t miss you. I hope you all will be able to get past this. Don`t be sad for too long! LET THE PARTYING BEGIN!  
  
Love,  
  
Jake  
  
Jack slipped his arm around me. ''I`m glad. I needed that.'' He said.  
  
I smiled wearily. Jake was gone, but we`d always party on, for Jake. 


End file.
